Root

Uchiha Yuan returned to the Uchiha Clan's tent and waited for three hours before Uchiha Mei finally came back.

"Senior Mei."

"Don't make that face. I only went to carry out a mission. It's not like I'm already dead," Uchiha Mei said with a smile.

"Senior Mei, is Lord Orochimaru using the three of us to force the Uchiha, Hyūga, and Ino-Shika-Cho—those five clans—to send people on this mission?" Uchiha Yuan asked.

"I'm afraid this wasn't Orochimaru's idea. Just after our major battle with the Kirigakure Shinobi ended, Orochimaru told us the Fourth Mizukage might be coming.

"At the time, he didn't ask us to send people out to scout. Instead, he took the matter upon himself. He said he would find a way to confirm the Fourth Mizukage's exact situation.

"But a few hours later, the arrival of a Root ninja changed Orochimaru's mind."

"Root?"

Seeing Uchiha Yuan's expression turn a little unnatural, Uchiha Mei thought he did not know about Root, so he explained casually, "It's normal that you don't know about Root. Root's existence is connected to Shimura Danzō.

"Root, in full, is the 'Anbu Training Department.' This organization is located underground in Konoha, just like a great tree sinking its roots deep into the darkness.

"Root's greatest purpose is to eliminate, from the shadows, any obstacles that might hinder the village's prosperity.

"To that end, they use any means necessary when carrying out missions. They are a ruthless and cruel organization.

"Root is hidden even deeper than the Anbu, and the things they do are even less fit to see the light."

"Senior Mei, Hokage-sama should know about Root's existence too, right?" Uchiha Yuan asked tentatively.

"Of course he knows. For a force as large as Root to exist for so long, it must have Hokage-sama's tacit approval.

"It's just that right now, Hokage-sama has probably already lost control over Root," Uchiha Mei said with a sigh.

Uchiha Yuan's expression did not change when he heard this, but other thoughts had already formed in his mind.

From Uchiha Mei's words, Uchiha Yuan had basically confirmed one thing: Uchiha Mei—or rather, the Dove Faction of the Uchiha Clan—had always believed that the ones among Konoha's upper ranks who were dissatisfied with and resistant toward the Uchiha Clan were the Two Hokage Advisors and Danzō.

They even believed Danzō had already broken free of the Third Hokage's control and was acting according to his own will.

But there was no doubt that Uchiha Mei's thinking was wrong.

The Third Hokage was not a Hokage who had been stripped of power. His authority in the village was absolutely unmatched, and Danzō and the Two Advisors had no way to exert any real influence over him.

Without the Third Hokage's approval, the extermination of the Uchiha Clan could never have been accomplished solely through the cooperation of Danzō, Itachi Uchiha, and Uchiha Obito.

However, there was one point where Uchiha Mei's view—perhaps the view of the Uchiha Clan's Dove Faction—was correct. At this stage, the Third Hokage did not yet have the same direct intention as the Two Advisors and Danzō to wipe out the Uchiha Clan.

What truly made the Third Hokage resolve to destroy the Uchiha Clan was most likely the scarlet Three Tomoe Sharingan reflected in the Nine-Tails' pupils during the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

At this stage, the Third Hokage merely wanted to suppress the Uchiha Clan. Ideally, through this war, more members of the Uchiha Clan would be reduced in number, weakening the clan's strength so the village could better control them.

This could be seen from the fact that after the Third Great Ninja War, only the First Squad of the Konoha Police Force consisted entirely of members of the Uchiha Clan, while the other squads had no choice but to recruit large numbers of outsiders.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Yuan sighed, then changed the subject and asked, "Senior Mei, did our clansmen suffer casualties in this war?"

"Seven people were lightly wounded, two were seriously wounded, and one lost an arm. He probably won't be able to be a ninja again in this life. The remaining four didn't have any problems."

"At least no one died."

"Yeah! No one dying is already the greatest fortune. But after the Fourth Mizukage arrives in the Land of Bears, the fighting here will only become even more brutal. If we can confirm the Fourth Mizukage's arrival time in advance, that will be a good thing for the other clansmen too.

"So, Yuan, you don't need to feel any psychological burden. As the leader of the Uchiha Clan in the Land of Bears, this is something I should do. Whether you were involved or not, I would have taken part in this mission."

After listening to Uchiha Mei, Uchiha Yuan fell silent. He was not stupid, so of course he could tell that most of Uchiha Mei's words were meant to comfort him.

If not for him, why would the Uchiha Clan have needed to wade into this muddy water?

"Senior Mei, I—"

"Didn't you say before that you're a man and didn't want to sleep together with Aya and Oto? Since you're a man, don't act so fussy. If I die, remember this hatred and avenge me by killing the Fourth Mizukage.

"But I definitely won't die. After all, I'm the captain of the Police Force's Third Squad. I'm not bragging, but in the entire Uchiha Clan, there are no more than ten people stronger than me." After saying that, Uchiha Mei rubbed Uchiha Yuan's head, then turned and left.

He had to hurry over and rendezvous with Shibi Aburame and the others, familiarize himself with his teammates' situations as quickly as possible, and increase their chances of survival as much as he could.

Uchiha Mei had deliberately run back to tell Uchiha Yuan that this matter had nothing to do with him, and that he should not feel any pressure.

A similar conversation also took place between Hyuga Asana and that Branch House ninja of the Hyūga Clan.

At first, Hyuga Asana had not understood why Uchiha Yuan had changed, or why he wanted to change the Uchiha Clan. Now, looking at that senior's back, she seemed to understand a little.

If one day the Caged Bird can really be undone, I hope to take all the Branch House clansmen and fly together, Hyuga Asana thought.

In the early hours of that day, under cover of night, Shibi Aburame's group of six set out.

This operation was extremely dangerous. Even with six Jonin deployed, two of whom were Elite Jonin like Uchiha Mei and Shibi Aburame, there was no guarantee they would all return in one piece.

And with Shibi Aburame's departure, Uchiha Yuan's squad no longer had an instructor Jonin.

For reasons unknown, Orochimaru did not assign them another instructor Jonin. Instead, he let their squad carry out missions independently like the other reconnaissance squads.

Before they knew it, Shibi Aburame and the others had already been gone for three days, and Uchiha Yuan's squad also received their first mission.

(P.S. Personally, I feel the Third Hokage didn't actually want the Uchiha Clan destroyed from the very beginning. The Third Hokage wasn't a pure politician or conspirator; he genuinely loved Konoha.

The way Konoha's residents reacted when the Third Hokage died proves that he was deeply loved in Konoha. People's hearts can't be won by schemes and tricks alone.

Of course, I don't deny that the Third Hokage did indeed do a lot of stupid things, and I'm not going to whitewash him either. It's not like everything can really be blamed on Danzō!)